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James Williamson participated in an afternoon talk at the C2SV Technology Conference and Music Festival on September 28, before the Stooges’ show later that night in St. James Park, where fans packed the lawn to rock out to the godfathers of punk.

“In the ’70s, we were terrible entertainers,” he said. “Not only had our albums not sold, but we had ADD. We didn’t want to play the same songs all the time, so we’d play new songs. So nobody ever knew what they were hearing. It was always like the first time. The shows were still interesting, but people didn’t know what to expect.”

These days he sees crowds hundreds of thousands strong, 20-somethings in the front row, singing along verbatim.

“It’s wild,” he remarked. “Who would have thought it?”

Read more at Metroactive.com.

It’s one of rock’s most enduring legends: without Iggy and the Stooges there would be no punk. Iggy Pop and his band of Detroit delinquents’ grimy, primal, confrontational style laid down the blueprint that made generations of frustrated adolescents channel their angst into a major cultural movement.

So it’s only fitting that the band is co-headlining the traveling punk rock exposition Riot Fest alongside fellow reunited icons the Replacements. But, to Stooges guitarist James Williamson, it’s a dubious honor.

“We never considered ourselves punk,” he says, speaking very long distance from his hotel room in Seoul, South Korea. “That label came much later. A lot of the guys who went on to found punk bands imitated [our] sound.”

Read more and listen to part of the interview at NOW Magazine.

Here is Mike Watt’s recap of the Iggy and the Stooges tour so far, sans Korea and Toronto: http://www.hootpage.com/hoot_stooges-wattdiary2013.html. The picture above, from the tour recap, shows James Williamson in Berlin.

Happy Birthday to Scott “Rock Action” Asheton today! Please post your birthday wishes below and on the Iggy and the Stooges Facebook page!

James Williamson will deliver the keynote music address at the C2SV Technology Conference and Music Festival in Silicon Valley at noon on September 28 before he performs with Iggy and the Stooges at St. James Park later that evening.

Completing a world tour that’s taken The Stooges from Australia to Europe, the legendary band will play its final show of its triumphant sweep on Williamson’s home turf in Silicon Valley. Williamson is an ideal icon for a conference and festival celebrating “Creative Convergence,” the fusion of information technology and the creative arts. In February, he’ll be inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame at California Polytechnic University. “To my knowledge, I am the only holder of a Rock n Roll HOF and an Engineering HOF,” Williamson says.

…Williamson’s keynote will be open to badge holders of the C2SV Technology Conference and VIP ticket holders for the Iggy and the Stooges concert later that day in St. James Park. The concert ticket is sold in combination with a wristband that enables concertgoers to experience three days of music at more than 12 venues in Downtown San Jose.

Read more at Metroactive.com.

Iggy and the Stooges will perform at this year’s C2SV Technology Conference & Music Festival, previously known as the Silicon Valley Sound Experience, on September 28th in San Jose, Calif. The band will play at St. James Park. More information and tickets can be found at C2SV.com.

C2SV, held at 12 downtown San Jose venues from September 26-29, also will feature The Lemonheads, The Limousines, The Coup and Dam-Funk among 70 acts expected at the festival.

As most of you know, it would’ve been Ron Asheton’s birthday today. You are sadly missed with all your stories and little quirky ways.

Photo from private archives.

From CNN: The early reviews of the show at London’s Meltdown Festival (curated this year by Yoko Ono) speak of Iggy Pop’s boundless, youthful energy as he bounds on to the stage like a jack-in-the box who’s just escaped the confines of the toy cupboard, cajoling, teasing and captivating his audience with the skills of the consummate showman.

“There’s a lot of craft,” he says. “Everything from learning the different parts of the room to reading the reactions to ultimately. You’re like a funnel or a vacuum cleaner. You’re a transformer between all the energy of the group and its music and the different energies of all the people in the different parts of the room. What’s really happening when it’s good is that everybody’s flowing into each other’s presence, maybe through the medium of a particular riff or a particular chorus but also a monkey — a well-rehearsed monkey,” he laughs.

Read the Iggy Pop interview with CNN.

Former Texas journalist Steve Miller has made use of his musical background with a new book called Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Five Decades of Rock ‘n’ Roll in America’s Loudest City. The book includes contributions from Iggy Pop, Grand Funk Railroad, the White Stripes’ Jack White and Kid Rock, relayed to Miller, a Michigan native and journalist.

Read more at CultureMap.

We haven’t posted it for a while but Mike Watt spills the beans about life on tour and that it’s not a bowl of cherries (nor beans).

http://hootpage.com/hoot_stooges-wattdiary2013.html

Iggy Pop was interviewed recently for the 400th episode of the WTF Podcast by Marc Maron. Tune in to the full podcast at WTFpod.com and check out Marc’s blog post about the interview. Marc wrote, “The fact that Iggy Pop was actually in my garage is some kind of milestone, a goal, and an amazing event.”

The Ron Asheton Foundation will be giving away a Reverend Ron Asheton Signature Guitar once they hit 5,000 “Likes” on their Facebook page! All you have to do is “Like” the Ron Asheton Foundation on Facebook for a chance to win. GO FOR IT, STOOGES FANS!

Reverend collaborated with Ron for the Reverend Ron Asheton Signature Guitar. Based on the popular Volcano model, the guitar melds three Reverend CP90 pickups with a korina body for a raw, yet fat tone with a percussive attack. The perfect guitar for edgy rock tones, but also versatile enough for just about any situation. Unique features include: lightning bolt body logo, and Ron’s signature silkscreened on the back of the headstock.

Read more at the Ron Asheton Foundation.